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Thursday, February 23, 2012

Campaign Tags

This platform-building campaign is a fun whirlwind of reading blogs and getting to know fellow writers. I'm enjoying the process and have been tagged many times. Thanks, everyone! To avoid creating a ponderous post that busy blog followers wouldn't want to wade through (my goodness, I wasn't trying for all that alliteration...yikes), I have selected a few questions from each person who tagged me. If you haven't checked out their blogs already, here they are: Regina (whose awesome questions I answered in my previous post), Gina, Theresa, C.M. Brown, Traci, and Marcy. I hope I didn't miss anyone!

1. When did you last cry in front of somebody (who is not your partner)?Musical rehearsal last Saturday. One scene in particular makes me cry every time without even trying.

2. Would you rather switch back to black and white TV with only five channels, or no internet?Oh please, the black and white TV. I rarely watch TV while I'm working on a novel anyway, but I need the internet to research and to keep from getting lost when I drive!3. What was your worst date ever?
It involved "Monty Python and the Holy Grail" and an unfortunate launching of hard candy at my head.

4. Would you rather live in a crowded city or small town?
I'd rather live as I do...in a small town close enough to frequent a big city. I need my symphony, shopping, professional ballet company, and independent bookstore with a multitude of book launches.

5. A friend takes you to an abandoned castle that has been hidden for centuries. She heard a rumor that great treasure was hidden in the sixth tower. Would you venture inside or turn it over to the authorities to investigate? What would you find?
Oh, I'd most definitely venture inside. I have a bad habit of doing ill-advised things when I'm in a foreign place. And I would find a time machine so I could go back and meet Jane Austen and return when I want to actually own my own property.

6. Have you ever written in a character in a story patterned after a real person ~ out of spite, because that person ticked you off?
No, but I've written characters who have traits of people I know. Knowing someone with a particular mannerism, habit, way of thinking is the best research.

7. What would be your dream job?
Full-time author, of course. And also...a dolphin trainer or the shopping liason for Royal Caribbean Cruise Line.

8. What is your favorite song and do you sing it loudly to yourself?
Favorite song(s) involve Disney movies and Broadway shows and I most definitely sing them loud.

9. Do you have a favorite piece of furniture?
The piano...I think you can count that as furniture.

10. Career or hobby novelist?
Career

11. What helps you focus on your writing?
I focus by setting a goal with a deadline as well as spending a few minutes every day with my children before sitting down to write.

12. Do you work on more than one project at once?
I usually have to set aside one project to devote a chunk of time to another. I can go back and forth but I have to stay in one project long enough to feel like I've made significant progress before switching focus. Otherwise, the voice in the novel suffers.

13. Fiction, non-fiction, or both?
Fiction. The non-fiction I read as a child was painful and boring. I haven't been able to think outside that box enough as a writer to believe I can tackle non-fiction in a creative and interesting way. I see other writers' non-fiction work for children and I'm impressed at how well they engage kids with facts. Meanwhile, I love creating new people, new worlds, new rules with fiction.

14. What was your favorite book or book series as a child?The Chronicles of Narnia

15. Chocolate or vanilla or caramel?
CHOCOLATE! Although chocolate with caramel is equally divine.

16. What was your most beloved toy as a young child?
I had a small stuffed Snoopy dressed in jeans and a red T-shirt that said "The gang's all here". I still have it in a box of keepsakes. It's a bit nasty in places where Snoopy's white fabric is yellowed with age and (most likely) my spit.

It seems everyone in the platform-building campaign has been tagged, but feel free to tell me your favorite literary character and favorite flavor of ice cream in the comments.

Served Up On This Blog...

Main Dish:The writing craft and the publishing industrySide Dish:Slices of lifeDessert (because we all love it):Cookie recipes

Celesta

I'm that person at the coffee shop with a hot chocolate, a laptop and a pile of books. I'm that person who sings even if people are listening. I love Celtic music, almost anything with cheese on it, and the color pink. I write middle grade and YA fantasy and I concoct cookie recipes (many of which are posted on this blog!)